Sorry I’ve been so absent lately, dear readers. Between taking care of our garden here at home, and our plot in the Carver Peace Community Gardens in town, between visiting with my mother and the Johnson City Commissioners about keeping hens in our city, between church business and packing, downsizing and preparing for our move later this month, I’ve simply been ‘too busy’ to write. I HATE saying that; ‘too busy’ is not a badge of honorfor me. It’s a place I have worked hard to avoid, yet, once again, here I am.

Back in 1998 I read a tiny newspaper ad for a course that was being offered in my town of Columbus, Ohio. The 6 week course was called “Voluntary Simplicity” and it changed.my.life.It put a name to a lifestyle I wanted to embrace and I’ve been trying to live a simpler life ever since. When I get ‘too busy’ I’m not a happy camper, nor am I effective at anything I attempt to do. I try to balance work and play, but being retired doesn’t seem to distinguish work or weekdays between weekends or vacations, and so every day is like a Tuesday or a Thursday!I’ve written here before aboutBread Laborand I’ve been trying to establish a practice of devoting four hours a day to it, leaving another four hour block of time to pursue personal interests and a final four hour block of my day for volunteer or church work. Sounds easy enough but that’s why I refer to it as a practice because hopefully, habit will make it so.

In the spirit of better balance, I’ve given myself permission to go off this weekend to spend it with a dear friend at her cottage on Roan Mountain. Yep, right in the middle of moving and 20 stalks of celery all ready at the same time for dehydrating, I’m going to go up where it’s cool, dangle my feet in the creek and make music, and stay up late, eat pizza and drink shine wineand be silly and have fun! I’m pretty sure all these moving boxes will still be here, waiting with open arms for me to fill them-next week!